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Trump infrastructure plan comes as gas tax funds ready to flow

President Donald Trump’s call Monday for a $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan comes on the heels of Montana cities and counties being notified of their first allocations of $6.2 million generated through a bill passed in the 2017 legislative session that increased the gas tax.

Trump infrastructure plan comes as gas tax funds ready to flow

President Donald Trump rolls out his infrastructure plan Monday, which envisions $1.5 trillion in spending over a decade to rebuild roads and highways. The plan relies heavily on state and local government budgets to become a reality. (Feb. 12)
AP

HELENA — President Donald Trump’s call Monday for a $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan comes on the heels of Montana cities and counties being notified of their first allocations of $6.2 million to help fix roads and bridges generated through a bill passed in the 2017 legislative session that increased the gas tax.

Officials also said the president’s plan puts Montana in a good position should Congress and the president reach consensus on a bill to improve roads, bridges, wastewater plants and other facilities.

“I am encouraged that Congress and the president have identified the need for infrastructure (repairs),” said Rep. Frank Garner, R-Kalispell, who sponsored House Bill 473, the state’s Bridge and Road Safety and Accountability Act, which went into effect July 1, increased the gas tax in the state, has set aside money to be used on state infrastructure projects, allocated some of the funds to local governments and set up an audit to make sure the money is being spent right. He said HB 473 gives about a third of the funds to the state and the rest to local governments.

But, he added, “The devil is in the details.”

In April, lawmakers passed HB 473, which would raise about $30 million a year — and many millions of dollars more in matching federal money.

The taxes on gasoline would rise by 6 cents a gallon and on diesel by 2 cents a gallon by 2023. Officials scaled back an earlier proposal to increase the gas tax by 8 cents a gallon and 7.25 cents a gallon for diesel. The gas tax has been increased by 4.5 cents so far, officials said.

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The state released the amount of funds to be available to counties and cities through the gas tax increase. State lawmakers passed the Bridge and Road Safety and Accountability Act in April.(Photo: TRIBUNE PHOTO/RION SANDERS)

Last week, the state notified the local governments about the $6.2 million raised by the tax that awaits them to be used for road and bridge projects. But no one is writing a blank check, officials said. Recipients have until Nov. 1 to reserve the funds and another form is filled out for it to be distributed.

Harold Blattie, executive director of the Montana Association of Counties, said the steps serve for monitoring and as a “tracking mechanism,” and there is nothing that mandates the counties take the money. Funds not claimed will be reallocated.

“But I guarantee all 56 counties will ask for it,” he said.

Blattie said his group will do a survey of projects and infrastructure needs in each county.

Among area cities and towns, Great Falls was allocated $360,411, Cascade was allocated $6,932, Fort Benton was allocated $17,328, Havre may get $62,235, Lewistown will get $48,046 and Helena was allocated $208,657, according to the Montana Department of Transportation.

Cascade County will get $72,755, Hill County gets $49,614, Lewis and Clark gets $100,000, Chouteau County receives $51,009 and Teton gets $35,868.

Lynn Zanto, transportation planning division administrator of the Montana Department of Transportation, said the first allocation from the gas tax for local governments to be used for roads and bridges was raised in four months.

She said notification letters went out last week and recipients have from March 1 to November to request the funds.

Zanto said the president’s plan was good news.

For Darryl James, executive director of the Montana Infrastructure Coalition, the president’s proposal “does a great job of acknowledging the problem that exists.”

He said it was the first recognition by a president in “a decade or more that (infrastructure) is a core function of government.”

Montana’s infrastructure needs have been estimated in the billions, more than $14.8 billion in roads alone, according to a 2014 report by the American Society of County Engineers (ASCE).

The ASCE gave Montana’s infrastructure a C- based on grades in several categories. School buildings got a D-, wastewater a D+, a C- each for dams and drinking water, Cs for irrigation canals, waterways and transportation, a C+ for transit and a B- for solid waste.

The Montana Infrastructure Coalition worked with lawmakers to get HB 473 passed. The group consists of more than 100 public and private organizations involved in infrastructure in Montana and wants to help change public policy and improve how state and local governments build and maintain these assets.

The Trump administration released a 55-page plan Monday that calls for using $200 billion in federal money to leverage local and state tax dollars to fix America's infrastructure, such as roads, highways, ports and airports.

"If you want it badly, you're going to get it," Trump told state and local officials during a meeting at the White House. "And if you don't want it, that's OK with me too."

President Donald Trump speaks Monday during a meeting with state and local officials about infrastructure in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)(Photo: Carolyn Kaster, AP)

Administration officials said it would feature two key components: an injection of funding for new investments and help speed up repairs of crumbling roads and airports, as well as a streamlined permitting process that would truncate the wait time to get projects underway. Officials said the $200 billion in federal support would come from cuts to existing programs, the Associated Press reported.

Half the money would go to grants for transportation, water, flood control, cleanup at some of the country's most polluted sites and other projects, according to AP.

States, local governments and other project sponsors could use the grants — which administration officials view as incentives — for no more than 20 percent of the cost. Transit agencies generally count on the federal government for half the cost of major construction projects, and federal dollars can make up as much as 80 percent of some highway projects.

About $50 billion would go toward rural projects — transportation, broadband, water, waste, power, flood management and ports. That is intended to address criticism from some Republican senators that the administration's initial emphasis on public-private partnerships would do little to help rural, GOP-leaning states.

Zanto she was happy to see federal officials were aware of the road and bridge needs.

“We’re encouraged he is interested in more funding for infrastructure and especially that he recognizes the need in rural America. It’s a good starting point.

James described the president's proposal as a pretty comprehensive approach "and in line with a lot of we have been talking about the past couple years."

James said it notes a funding deficit in roads, bridges, wastewater and power plants and airports.

Gov. Steve Bullock's office said he has urged the Trump administration to bring governors and states to the table on critical issues like health care and public land and the same goes for infrastructure.

"He has real concerns about the impact of the proposal put out today on Montana but is hopeful folks in Washington, D.C., will actually engage with those who are out driving on the roads being talked about," said Ronja Abel, his communications director.​

He said constituents tell him they want “a robust bill that delivers real resources to upgrade our roads, bridges, schools, water systems, and internet.”

“I’m still reviewing the president’s proposal, but at first glance I have concerns that rural states like Montana will get passed over and the meaningful investments will flow to places like New York and California,” Tester said in an email. “I’m willing to work with the president and educate him about the needs of Montana so we can put forth a bill that invests in our communities and creates jobs.”

Republican Sen. Steve Daines said Trump’s plan includes issues important to Montana, which include expanding rural broadband and streamlining the permitting process addressing the National Park Service’s maintenance backlog.

“Montana’s national parks are national treasures that must be accessible to Montanans and Americans across the country,” Daines said, adding they are also important drivers of the state’s outdoor tourism economy.

He said the maintenance backlog must be addressed for future generations.

Daines said Trump’s plan returns authority to state and local governments.

“The governor will need to focus on priorities important to Montana and make tough decisions like Montanans do every day,” he said.

GOP Rep. Greg Gianforte said he appreciated the president’s leadership on this issue.

“As the president proposes, we must streamline the broken permitting process that unnecessarily bogs down critical projects in red tape,” he said via email.

"The president’s plan also appropriately empowers state and local officials, because they know their infrastructure needs better than any bureaucrat in Washington,” he said.